FALLING
by dreamer.at.heart
Summary: Hinata has a habit of falling and refusing to stay down. And quite frankly, Naruto's tired of it.


**PLEASE READ:**

**8/28/12**

**Hey everyone. Sorry, this isn't an update. But I'm so glad everyone loves my story!**

**Unfortunately, something really upsetting has happened. In the fiftieth review for my story Make Me a Sandwich, a reviewer told me they'd already read the story in Spanish. I was really confused by this, because I hadn't authorized anyone to translate my story.**

**I did a little research and found the story in question. A writer by the name of Miku-Ruder-Girl has stolen not one, but TWO of my stories and translated them into Spanish, taking my work as her own. Since it's in another language, it wasn't caught by admins. The stories were Make Me a Sandwich and FALLING.**

**I know it's just fanfiction, but this is my work. I'm really hurt that someone took my work, translated it without permission, and took it as their own.**

**I do love that people want to read my writing in other languages. Another user (I forgot their name, sorry!) reached out to me to ask if they could translate one of my stories into German. I gave them permission, they credited me, and life goes on.**

**This was not the case with Miku-Ruder-Girl. She presented my work as her own, and quite frankly it's really upsetting.**

**If anyone knows of any other translations or thefts of my work, please let me know. Plagiarism is wrong, and it hurts.**

**Thanks.**

**- dreameratheart**

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Part of my submission for 100 Themes Challenge.

Theme #63: FALLING

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Hinata has a habit of falling and refusing to stay down. And quite frankly, Naruto's tired of it.

He guesses the first time it happened was when they were much younger-he barely knew her, only that she was one of his classmates and had offered to let him cheat off her test.

She's fighting her cousin-her older, stronger, more experienced cousin-and losing badly.

_She falls._

He's the one to make sure the match keeps going (something he regrets now, when he thinks about what it did to her heart) and though everyone else thinks she's close to death-

_She gets back up. _

And then she fights, harder than he's ever seen anyone fight in his entire life-though when she falls once more, he nearly breaks when he realizes it's probably his fault.

That day, Naruto realizes strength doesn't necessarily mean winning. And then he swears a blood vow to avenge the girl who has shown him true strength.

The second time, he knows her a little better. He remembers the mission fondly-where Team 8, with him tagging along, goes to find the mysterious Bikochou beetle.

He remembers her being kidnapped, and he flinches internally. He remembers when he thought she was dead-how he makes another vow on her behalf, but it doesn't matter.

She's alive, alright, and _furious._ She kicks ass that day, but he also remembers something else.

She's trying a new technique when the giant summon knocks her back, sending her flying.

_She falls._

She crashes to the ground, and Naruto tries to rush after her. But her teammate stops him, and explains why Hinata is going to win this fight. For him. And he feels the same heartbreak he once felt when she fell before, and-

_She gets back up._

And then she fights, crushing her opponent with glowing eyes and chakra control so perfect he nearly cries with envy, and at the end she falls into Naruto's arms and blushes at his admiration.

That day, Naruto realizes that strength isn't something you're born with. Sometimes, you have to fight and bleed for it.

The third time, he's pinned to the ground and he can feel Pain's (it hurts so bad he can't even laugh at the irony of a guy name Pain causing so much pain) chakra inside of him and damn it hurts, and he can't get up and he knows he's losing and all he can think is _the village_ and what's going to happen to his friends and _why won't this guy shut up?_ and then it's back to the pain and then-

Then she comes flying in.

This time, he's scared shitless. Especially when she tells him, a tearful smile on her face, that she loves him.

He doesn't remember when he stops breathing, but he knows he gasps for air when Pain manages to toss her into the air.

_She falls._

He can practically hear her bones breaking from where he lies, and he screams her name, and her body moves, and he tells her to _please_, stay down-

_She gets back up._

And then she fights, delicate hands curled into fists glowing with bright blue chakra, and even manages to land a hit on someone who _no one_ can touch.

That day, Naruto realizes that sometimes strength isn't fighting, or knowing when to give up like so many have told him. Sometimes it's sacrificing yourself and giving it all when you know that soon, you'll have nothing to give and then it'll be over.

The third time, when the god prevails and she doesn't seem to get back up, Naruto sees red.

The first time, Naruto cheers.

The second time, Naruto worries.

The third time, Naruto cries.

It's after the war's over, _thank Kami_, and their friends are alive and Sasuke and even Asuma and Hizashi and the others are back.

That's when he finds Hinata, in the hospital-not as a medic, of course (Sakura has informed him that Hinata believes she has a purpose in life, and that is to be the dark secret that kills and leaves no evidence), but as a patient.

He asks her politely to stop getting back up.

She asks why.

He tells her that she always gets hurt, and he's tired of feeling broken because he knows it's his fault and he can't bear to see her hurt, not again.

She laughs, and when he clenches his fists and tells her he's serious, she turns her glowing-lavender-white eyes on him and asks:

"If I fall, will you catch me?"

That day, Naruto realizes that just because she falls sometimes doesn't mean she has to get up all by herself.

Besides, he justifies to himself hours later, when she's asleep and he's watching her and the way her dark eyelashes brush her cheeks and the way she blushes even in sleep and the way her chest rises and falls (reminding him that yes, she's alive), if she falls and he helps her up, he gets to hold her in his arms.

And he's ok with that.

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END.

-Dreamer.


End file.
